In order to grasp the originality of the anthropological scheme upon which Lev Vygotsky’s pedagogy is based, it must be shown, on the one hand, what he objects to in his very field of inquiry and, on the other hand, what is distinctive of the way he approaches development. The criticisms Vygotsky levels at Tolstoian pedagogy allow one to highlight the key concepts of the anthropological model in which is rooted his conception of pedagogy, the latter being also influenced by Valentin Voloshinov’s philosophy of language. By so doing, one is able to demonstrate the actuality of Vygotski’s concept of “proximal zone of development”.